Header for Heat Exchanger

ABSTRACT

A header for a heat exchanger orients the position of an inlet port at an angle offset from the position of the outlet port on the header body in order to simplify the plumbing of the header within a system. In one implementation of a header for a heat exchanger, the header forms a header cavity defined by an external wall and which is separated into an inlet chamber and an outlet chamber by a dividing wall. An inlet port is defined within the external wall and is in fluid communication with the inlet chamber. Similarly, an outlet port is defined within the external wall and is in fluid communication with the outlet chamber. The inlet port is oriented on the external wall at an offset angle with respect to a position of the outlet port.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/246,397 filed 6 Oct. 2008 entitled “Methods and apparatus for a pooltreatment and water system,” which is hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety.

This application is related to U.S. provisional application No.60/978,047 filed 5 Oct. 2007 entitled “Methods and apparatus for a pooltreatment system”, and U.S. provisional application No. 60/988,711 filed16 Nov. 2007 entitled “Header for heat exchanger,” each of which ishereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure generally relates a header design andconfiguration for a heat exchanger, primarily for use in conjunctionwith pool and spa water treatment and handling systems.

In a plumbing system for a pool or spa, many components may be fluidlyconnected together, including a pool filter, a water heater, heatexchanger, salt chlorine generators and various valves and controllers.The components are fluidly connected together by piping, such as PVCpipe. In operation, the water in the pool flows from the pool, throughthe plumbing system, including the filter, various valves and pump(s),the water heater, and the chlorine generator (if one is necessary) andother components, and back to the pool.

There are many ways to connect the components to one another. In manysystems, however, the design of individual components, such as the pump,filter, valves, heaters and so on, are often not considered within thecontext of the overall plumbing system, thus leading to an inefficientlayout and joining of the components. For example, traditional heatexchanger header structures for pool and spa heaters, such as the oneshown in prior art FIG. 9, often have the inlet and outlet ports on thesame side and in a common geometric plane with one another. As anotherexample, traditional pool filters also often have the inlet and outletports on the same side. These configurations make it more likely to haveto use cross-over tubing layouts, and extra angles in the tubing tofluidly connect the heat exchanger and pool filter to the surroundingcomponents.

In other words, little coordination, if any, has previously existed inthe pool equipment market to ensure the exit point of one piece ofequipment either aligns or matches the entrance point of any other pieceof equipment. Hence, the pool plumber has been required to make theconnections with custom cut-to-length pipe and a multitude of fittings.The various elevations of plumbing connection points results in the needfor additional bends and turns with the associated required fittings,and often reduces hydraulic flow.

SUMMARY

Headers for heat exchangers as disclosed herein orient the position ofan inlet port at an angle offset from the position of the outlet port onthe header body in order to simplify the plumbing of the header within asystem, for example, a pool or spa water treatment system. In oneimplementation of a header for a heat exchanger, the header forms aheader cavity defined by an external wall and which is separated into aninlet chamber and an outlet chamber by a dividing wall. An inlet port isdefined within the external wall and is in fluid communication with theinlet chamber. Similarly, an outlet port is defined within the externalwall and is in fluid communication with the outlet chamber. The inletport is oriented on the external wall at an offset angle with respect toa position of the outlet port.

In another implementation, a header for a heat exchanger has a tubularbody defining a header cavity. The header also has a dividing wallseparating the header cavity into an inlet chamber and an outletchamber. A first end cap is removably attached to a first end of thetubular body to seal the inlet chamber. Similarly, a second end cap isremovably attached to a second end of the tubular body to seal theoutlet chamber. An inlet port is defined within the tubular body and isin fluid communication with the inlet chamber. Similarly, an outlet portis defined within the tubular body and is in fluid communication withthe outlet chamber. The inlet port is oriented at a first offset anglewith respect to a position of the outlet port. One or more heater outletports are in fluid communication with the inlet chamber and one or moreheater inlet ports are in fluid communication with the outlet chamber.The heater outlet ports are positioned in a common plane with the heaterinlet ports, and the heater outlet ports and the heater inlet ports arepositioned at a second offset angle with respect to a position of theinlet port and a third offset angle with respect to the position of theoutlet port.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front isometric view of an implementation of a pool/spawater treatment system.

FIG. 2 is a rear isometric view of the pool/spa water treatment systemshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the pool/spa water treatment systemshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the pool/spa water treatment system shownin FIG. 1

FIG. 5 is a front isometric view of another embodiment of a pool/spawater treatment system.

FIG. 6 is a front isometric view of yet another embodiment of a pool/spawater treatment system.

FIG. 7 is a front isometric view of a prior art pool/spa water treatmentsystem with a conventional layout.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing the head loss and power required for apool/spa water treatment system of FIG. 1 as described herein comparedto the prior art pool/spa water treatment system of FIG. 7 for variousflow rates.

FIG. 9 is an isometric view of a prior art heat exchanger header havinga conventional configuration.

FIG. 10 is an isometric view of an implementation of a heat exchangerheader with offset inlet and outlet ports.

FIG. 11 is a schematic-style cross section taken along line 11-11 ofFIG. 10, and shows a schematic of the interior of the heat exchangerheader of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is an exploded view of an embodiment of a heat exchangerstructure depicting the connection of inlet and outlet ports between theheat exchanger header of FIG. 10 and the heat exchanger structure and abypass valve housed in the heat exchanger header.

FIG. 13 is a schematic end view representing the offset nature of theinlet and outlet ports for the heat exchanger header of FIG. 10, and onerange of degrees of variance therebetween.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Water treatment systems are described herein that may be used for apool, spa, or other systems requiring the pumping, filtering,and/heating of water through a fluid conduit system. These treatmentsystems may involve incorporating any or all of the following into apool or spa water system:

1. Controlling inlet and outlet port elevations of the various pieces ofpool equipment;

2. Aligning the horizontal dimensions (fore and aft) to minimizecrossing of plumbing;

3. Minimizing the overall footprint of the equipment when plumbed to fiton pre-fabricated equipment pads;

4. Providing options (multiple ports, changeable entrance and exitports, optional plumbing sizes) to ease plumbing for the variousequipment pad configurations; and

5. Increasing the size of plumbing between equipment to allow forimproved hydraulic performance (e.g., allowing up to 2½ inch plumbingconnections compared to standard 2″ fittings).

FIG. 1 depicts a front perspective view of first embodiment of apool/spa water treatment system 100, and FIG. 2 depicts a rearperspective view of the pool/spa water treatment system 100 depicted inFIG. 1. FIG. 3 depicts a front elevation view of the pool/spa watertreatment system 100 depicted in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 depicts a top planview of the pool/spa water treatment system 100 depicted in FIG. 1. Withreference to FIGS. 1-4, the pool/spa water treatment system may includea pump 105, a pool filter 110, a heater 115, a chlorine generator 120,piping, and valves 125, 130. An upstream valve 125 may be fluidlyconnected to one or more water sources, such as a pool or spa (notshown), using piping. The pump 105 may be fluidly connected to theupstream valve 125 via a pump inlet conduit assembly 135 to receivewater from the one or more water sources via the upstream valve 125.Further, the pump 105 may be fluidly connected to the pool filter 110via a pool filter inlet conduit assembly 140. The pool filter 110, inturn, may be fluidly joined to the heater 115 via a heater inlet conduitassembly 145, and the heater 115 may be in fluid communication with thechlorine generator 120 via a chlorine generator inlet conduit assembly150. The chlorine generator 120 may be in fluid communication with adownstream valve 130 via a chlorine generator outlet conduit assembly155. The downstream valve 130 may be in fluid communication with one ormore fluid receiving bodies or reservoirs, such as pools or spas, viapiping.

In operation, the pump 105 draws a fluid, such as water, from one ormore fluid sources, such as a pool or spa, in fluid communication withthe pump 105 and delivers the fluid to the pool filter 110 forfiltering. Within the pool filter 110, sediment and other particles areseparated from the fluid to create a filtered fluid. The filtered fluidthen flows from the pool filter 110 to the heater 115 for heating thefiltered fluid to a desired temperature. The heated and filtered fluidthen flows from the heater 115 to the chlorine generator 120. Within thechlorine generator 120, the heated and filtered fluid is chlorinated todisinfect the heated and filtered fluid. The now filtered, heated, anddisinfected fluid is then delivered to one or more fluid receivingbodies or reservoirs, such as a pool or spa. The fluid receiving bodiesor reservoirs may be the same, or different, than the fluid sources.

The pump 105 may take the form of any pump suitable for use in a pool,spa, or other water system, including, but not limited to, a Stealthpump, a PlusHP pump, or a MaxHp pump, all of which are sold by JandyPool Products, Inc. of Moorpark, Calif. and are described in the JandyPump Reference Guide, the Stealth Series Pumps Installation andOperation Manual, the Plus HP Series Pumps Installation and OperationManual, and the Max HP Series Pumps Installation and Operation Manual,which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.The pump 105 may be a variable, multiple, or fixed speed pump. The pump105 may include a pump inlet 160 and a pump outlet 165, which may bealigned along a first axis 168, or within a first vertical plane 170.Further, the pump inlet 160 may be positioned at a first elevation. Thepump outlet 165 may be positioned at approximately the first elevation.The pump outlet 165 may be offset from the pump inlet 160 by ninetydegrees.

The pump inlet conduit assembly 135 may include a pump inlet pipe 175,or other fluid conduit. One end of the pump inlet pipe 175 may be joinedto the pump inlet 160 for delivering fluid, such as water, to the pump105 from a fluid source, such as a pool or spa. The opposite, or distalend, of the pump inlet pipe 175 may be joined to the upstream valve 125,which receives fluid from one or more fluid sources for delivery to thepump inlet pipe 175.

The pump outlet 165 may be joined to the pool filter inlet conduitassembly 140, which delivers fluid to the pool filter 110. The pumpoutlet 165 may be aligned with a pool filter inlet 180 within a secondvertical plane 185, as shown, for example, in FIG. 3. This secondvertical plane 185 may be transverse to the first vertical plane 170. Insome embodiments, the second vertical plane 185 may be perpendicular tothe first vertical plane 170. Such alignment combined with the pumpoutlet 165 defined on an upper portion of the pump 105 simplifies thepiping connection between the pump outlet 165 and the pool filter inlet180 since the piping plumbs within a common vertical plane. Further,such alignment helps to minimize the number of curved or bent pipesegments required to join the pump outlet 165 to the pool filter inlet180, which helps to reduce the head/energy losses when transporting thefluid through the piping. More particularly, generally only one sweepelbow 190 is necessary to position one or more linear pipes 195 of thepool filter inlet conduit assembly 140 at the proper elevation forconnection to the pool filter inlet 180 in order to fluidly join thepump 105 to the pool filter 110. Yet further, such alignment alsominimizes the potential for this piping to cross-over other piping for agiven system, thus creating a piping system that is easier to maintain.

The pool filter 110 may take the form of any fluid filter for separatingsolids and/or particulates from water, including, but not limited to,cartridge, sand, screen and other filters. One possible cartridge-typefilter is the pool filter described in U.S. Provisional application Ser.No. 12/053,446, entitled “Pool Filter” and filed on Mar. 21, 2008, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

The pool filter 110 may include the pool filter inlet 180 and a poolfilter outlet 200. The pool filter inlet 180 and pool filter outlet 200may be positioned on diametrically opposite sides of the pool filter110. Further, the pool filter inlet 180 and pool filter outlet 200 maybe positioned along a second axis 202 and/or within the second verticalplane 185. Yet further, the pool filter inlet 180 and the pool filteroutlet 200 may be positioned at approximately a second elevation on thepool filter 110. When the pool/spa water treatment system 100 isassembled, the difference between the first elevation for the pumpoutlet 165 and the second elevation of the pool filter inlet 180 andoutlet 200 may be approximately the height of the elbow 190 joined tothe pump outlet 165, thus allowing for one sweep elbow to be used toposition a pool filter inlet pipe 195 (or pipes) at the second elevationfor fluidly joining the pool filter inlet 180 to the pump outlet 165 viathe pool filter inlet conduit assembly 140.

The pool filter inlet 180 may be joined the pool filter inlet conduitassembly 140 to receive fluid from the pump 105. The pool filter outlet200 may be joined to the heater inlet conduit assembly 145 to deliverfiltered water to the heater 115. As shown in FIG. 3 and as discussedabove, the pool filter inlet 180 and outlet 200 may be positioned atapproximately the same elevation on the pool filter 110. Further, thepool filter inlet 180 and outlet 200 may be approximately the same size.Such a configuration and arrangement allows for the pool filter inlet180 and outlet 200 to be, with appropriate changes to the internalconnections, interchanged, thus providing flexibility in plumbing othercomponents of a pool/spa water treatment system 100, such as a heater115 or pump 105, to the pool filter 110. Further, similar to thealignment of the pump outlet 165 with the pool filter inlet 180, thepool filter outlet 200 may be aligned with the heater inlet 205 withinthe second vertical plane 185, as shown, for example, in FIG. 2. Asdescribed in more detail above with respect to the pump outlet 165 andthe pool filter inlet 180, such an alignment simplifies the pipingconnection between the pool filter outlet 200 and the heater inlet 205,helps to reduce head/energy losses within the pool/spa water treatmentsystem 100 (i.e., results in a system that is more efficient and/orrequires less energy to pump water through it), and potentially createsan easier to maintain piping system.

The heater 115 may take the form of any suitable water heater for apool, spa, or other fluid system. One possible heater is the LXigas-fired pool and spa heater, sold by Jandy Pool Products, Inc. ofMoorpark, Calif. The LXi gas-fired pool and spa heater is described inthe Model LXi Natural Gas and LP Installation and Operation Manual,which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The heater 115 may include the heater inlet 205 for receiving fluid fromthe pool filter 110 and a heater outlet 210. As described above, theheater inlet 205 and the pool filter outlet 200 may be aligned withinthe second vertical plane 185. Further, the heater inlet 205 may bepositioned at a third elevation. Yet further, the heater inlet 205 maybe aligned with the pump outlet 165 along a third axis 208. This thirdaxis 208 may be parallel to and vertically offset from the second axis202. When the system is assembled, the third elevation for the heaterinlet 205 may be at approximately the same elevation as the firstelevation for the pump outlet 165 as shown, for example, in FIG. 3.

By positioning the heater inlet 205 and pump outlet 165 at a commonelevation, and by also positioning the pool filter inlet 180 and thepool filter outlet 200 at the second elevation, similarly sized elbowsor other curved piping for the pool filter inlet conduit assembly 140and the heater inlet conduit assembly 145 that redirect the fluid flowfrom a substantially horizontal flow to a substantially vertical flow,or vice versa, may be used. The ability to use similar sized componentsresults in cost efficiencies since multiple components of the same sizecan be reproduced rather than requiring either field modification ormultiple tooling to be used to create different sized components. Theuse of similarly sized components also creates installation efficienciessince the installer can use any component of the same type rather thanpotentially install differently sized, but similar components, at thewrong place in the system, thus requiring undoing the installation inorder to install the right component at the right location.

The heater outlet 210 may be positioned at approximately the sameelevation as the heater inlet 205 (i.e., at approximately the thirdelevation). Positioning the heater outlet 210 at approximately the thirdelevation allows for ease in installing pool/spa water treatment systemcomponents downstream of the heater outlet 210, such as a chlorinegenerator 120, since the chlorine generator inlet conduit assembly 150,as shown, for example, in FIG. 1, will generally be at a differentelevation than the heater inlet conduit assembly 145. Further, theheater inlet 205 and the heater outlet 210 may be positioned along afourth axis 212, or within a third vertical plane 215. The fourth axis212 or third vertical plane 215 may be transverse to the second axis 202or second vertical plane 185, respectively. In some embodiments, thefourth axis 212 or third vertical plane 215 may be perpendicular to thesecond axis 202 or second vertical plane 185, respectively. In suchembodiments, the fourth axis 212 or third vertical plane 215 may begenerally parallel to the first axis 168 or first vertical plane 170,respectively.

The chlorine generator 120 may take the form of any suitable system forchlorinating fluid in a pool, spa, or other fluid system. One possiblechlorine generator is the chlorine generator described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/346,650, entitled “Multi-Port ChlorineGenerator” and filed on Feb. 3, 2006, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The chlorine generator 120 may include a chlorine generator inlet 220for receiving fluid from the heater 115. The chlorine generator 120 mayfurther include a chlorine generator outlet 225 for deliveringchlorinated fluid from the chlorine generator to the downstream valve130 for distribution to water bodies or reservoirs, such as pool or spareservoirs. The chlorine generator inlet 220 and the chlorine generatoroutlet 225 may be positioned at a fourth elevation. When the pool/spawater treatment system 100 is assembled, the fourth elevation may beapproximately the same as the first and/or third elevations. When thethird and fourth elevations are approximately the same, elbows or otherbent piping elements are not needed to change to elevation of the pipingfor the chlorine generator inlet conduit assembly 155 used to join thechlorine generator inlet 220 to the heater outlet 210. Yet further, thechlorine generator inlet 220 and the chlorine generator outlet 225 maybe aligned along a fifth axis 228, or within a fourth vertical plane230. The fifth axis 228 or fourth vertical plane 230 may be transverseto the second axis 202 or second vertical plane 185, respectively. Insome embodiments, the fifth axis 228 or fourth vertical plane 230 may begenerally perpendicular to the second axis 202 or second vertical plane185, respectively. In such embodiments, the fifth axis 228 or fourthvertical plane 230 may be generally parallel to either or both of thefirst and fourth axes 168, 212 or the first and third vertical planes170, 215, respectively.

The upstream valve 125 may take the form of a diverter valve. A possiblediverter valve for use in the pool/spa water treatment system 100 isdescribed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/681,015, entitled“Diverter Valve” and filed on Mar. 1, 2007, the disclosure of which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. However, anytype of diverter or other suitable valve may be used. Further, thenumber of inlets and outlets may be more or less than three. Yetfurther, the valve may be closed manually, or may be configured to closeautomatically used an actuator, such as a Jandy Valve Actuatormanufactured by Jandy Pool Products of Moorpark, Calif. Still yetfurther, the valve may operatively connected to a controller or othercontrol system for controlling the opening and closing of the variousfluid communications within the pool/spa water treatment system 100using the diverter valve or the like.

With continued reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the diverter valve mayinclude a diverter valve outlet 235 or port fluidly connected to thepump inlet pipe 175 for delivering fluid from the diverter valve to thepump inlet pipe 175. The diverter valve may also include two divertervalve fluid inlets 240, 245 with each diverter valve fluid inlet fluidlyconnected to a diverter valve inlet conduit assembly 250 for deliveringfluid to the diverter valve from fluid sources remote from the divertervalve. The diverter valve may further include a handle joined to a valveclosing member (not shown) contained with a fluid chamber (also notshown) defined by a diverter valve body. The handle may be selectivelymoved to open or close fluid communication, using the valve closingmember, between the fluid chamber and the various inlets and/or outletsthat receive and deliver fluid to and from the diverter valve via thefluid chamber.

The diverter valve inlets 240, 245 and outlet 235 may be positioned at afifth elevation. When the pool/spa water treatment system 100 isassembled, the fifth elevation may be approximately the same as thefirst elevation. Such positioning allows the diverter valve outlet 235to be joined to the pump inlet 160 without the use of any elbows or thelike to change the vertical location of the pump inlet pipe 175 (orpipes) that fluidly join the diverter valve outlet 235 to the pump inlet160. Yet further, the diverter valve outlet 235 and the pump inlet 160may be aligned along the first axis 168 or within the first verticalplane 170.

Valves other than diverter valves may also be used for the upstreamvalve 125. For example, the diverter shown in the figures may bereplaced with a check valve. Possible check valves for use in thepool/spa water treatment system 100 are described in U.S. Pat. Nos.4,470,429 and 6,247,489, the disclosures of which are incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties. However, any type of checkvalve, or other type of valve, may be used.

The downstream valve 130 may be substantially similar to the upstreamvalve 125. However, the downstream valve 130 may include one inlet 255for receiving fluid from the chlorine generator 120 (or from anothercomponent of the pool/spa water treatment system, such as the heater 115as shown in FIG. 5, or the pool filter 110), and two outlets 260, 265 influid communication with a pool, spa or other water receiving system.The downstream valve inlet 255 and outlets 260, 265 may be positioned ata sixth elevation. When the system is assembled, the sixth elevation maybe approximately the same as the fourth elevation for the chlorinegenerator inlet 220 and outlet 225. Such positioning allows thedownstream valve inlet 255 to be joined to the chlorine generator outlet225 without the use of any elbows or the like to change the verticallocation of the piping for the chlorine generator outlet conduitassembly 155 that fluidly joins the downstream valve inlet 255 to thechlorine generator outlet 225. Yet further, the downstream valve inlet255 and the chlorine generator outlet 225 may be aligned along the fifthaxis 228 or within the fourth vertical plane 230.

The pool filter inlet conduit assembly 145 may include two or morepiping components or segments, with one end portion of the pool filterinlet conduit assembly 140 joined to the pump outlet 165 and the otherend portion joined to the pool filter inlet 180. With reference to FIGS.1 and 2, the pool filter inlet conduit assembly 140 may include thesweep elbow 190 and the linear pipe 195. A first substantially linearportion of the sweep elbow 190 extends upward from the pump outlet 165and then curves in a sweeping arc to place a second substantially linearportion of the sweep elbow 190 at substantially the same elevation asthe pool filter inlet 180. From this curved portion, the sweep elbow 190extends laterally away from the pump 105 and towards the pool filterinlet 180, where it is joined to the linear pipe 195. The linear pipe195, which may be positioned at substantially the same verticalelevation as the pool filter inlet 180 (i.e., at the second elevation),extends from the sweep elbow 190 to the pool filter inlet 180. At thepool filter inlet 180, the linear pipe 195 is joined to the pool filterinlet 180 using a coupling member 270, such as a threaded coupling nut,or by any other suitable connection method, including, but not limitedto, press fitting, heat or sonic welding, adhering, and so on.

The heater inlet conduit assembly 145 may be similar to the pool filterinlet conduit assembly 140 (i.e., the heater inlet conduit assembly 145may include an elbow, such as a 90 degree or sweep elbow, or othercurved piping component, one or more linear pipes and one or morecoupling members) except one end portion is joined to the pool filteroutlet 200 and the other end is joined to the heater inlet 205. Thechlorine generator inlet conduit assembly 150 may also be similar to thepool filter inlet conduit assembly 140 (i.e., the chlorine generatorinlet conduit assembly 150 may include an elbow, such as a 90 degree orsweep elbow, or other curved piping component, one or more linear pipesand one or more coupling members) except one end portion is joined tothe heater outlet 210 and the other end portion is joined to thechlorine generator inlet 220. The chlorine generator outlet conduitassembly 155 may include a linear pipe and coupling members for joiningthe linear pipe to the chlorine generator outlet 225 and the downstreamvalve inlet 255.

The inlets and outlets for the valves 125, 130, the pump 105, the poolfilter 110, the heater 115, and the chlorine generator 120 may each beapproximately the same size. By using a similar size for each of theinlets and outlets, the piping and other plumbing fluidly joining thevarious components of the pool/spa water treatment system 100 may bestandardized. Such standardization may result in both manufacturing andinstallation efficiencies for similar reasons described above withrespect to the elbows used for changing fluid direction. Furtherstandardization results by arranging the components of the pool/spawater treatment system 100 within a predetermined area (or on apredetermined pad size) in a consistent and repeatable layout, whichallows for the same number and length of piping components to be used tojoin the components together for each installed pool/spa water treatmentsystem 100.

FIG. 5 depicts a second embodiment of a pool/spa water treatment system300. The second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment except thechlorine generator and associated plumbing/piping are omitted. FIG. 6depicts a third embodiment of a pool filter treatment system 400. Thethird embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, except the chlorinegenerator, the heater, and associated plumbing/piping are omitted.

FIG. 7 depicts a prior art pool/spa water treatment system 500 showingthe piping in a conventional layout. In particular, the inlet 505 andoutlet 510 for the pool filter 515 are located on the same side of thepool filter 515, and the header 520 for the heater 525 is a conventionalheader, such as the header 520 shown in FIG. 9. Because of the locationof these pool filter inlet 505 and outlet 510 on the pool filter 515 andthe orientation of the header inlet 530 and outlet 535, additionalelbows and piping are required to deliver water from the pool filteroutlet 510 to the heater inlet 530 as compared to the first embodimentof the pool/spa water treatment system 100.

To compare the efficiencies of these two pool/spa water treatmentsystems 100, 500, each system was modeled using the same components forthe pump, pool filter, heat exchanger, chlorine generator, valves, andusing the same diameter openings and fluid passages for piping andelbows. However, in the conventional system 500 setup, a conventionalheader 520, as shown in FIG. 9, for the heater was used, while in thefirst embodiment 100 setup, a header as shown in FIGS. 1 and 10 and asdescribed in more detail below was used to supply and receive water fromthe heater. Further, in the conventional system 500 setup, the poolfilter inlet and outlet were positioned on the same side of the poolfilter. As a result of these differences between the two systems, theconventional system required nine elbow or curved pipe componentscompared to three elbow or curved pipe components for the firstembodiment of the pool/spa water treatment system 100 in order tofluidly connect the pump, pool filter, heater, and chlorine generator.Further, to fit the components of the conventional system 500 within anarea similar to that of the first embodiment of the pool/spa watertreatment system 100, the conventional system required extensive use ofninety degree elbows. In contrast, sweep elbows rather than ninetydegree elbows could generally be used in the first embodiment of thepool/spa water treatment system 100 for the area available for settingup the pool/spa water treatment system.

To determine the head loss in each system, pressure gauges were placedupstream of the upstream valve (P1), between the upstream valve and thepump inlet (P2), between the pump outlet and the pool filter inlet (P3),and downstream of the downstream valve (P4). The pressure at thesepoints were measured for each system at various flow rates. The headloss for each flow rate was calculated using the following equation:[(P1−P2)+(P3−P4)]×2.3067. Table 1 below summarizes the measuredpressures and the calculated head loss at various flow rates for thefirst embodiment of the pool/spa water treatment system 100, and Table 2below summarizes the measured pressures and the calculated head loss atvarious flow rates for the conventional pool/spa water treatment system500. The head loss vs. flow rate for each system as shown in Tables 1and 2 is plotted on the graph shown in FIG. 8.

TABLE 1 Flow Rate vs. Head Loss 1^(st) Embodiment of Pool/Spa WaterTreatment System Flow P1 P2 P3 P4 Head Loss (gpm) (psi) (psi) (psi)(psi) (feet) 159.2 0.04 −0.52 17.00 3.57 32.3 150.9 0.04 −0.50 18.786.54 29.5 139.2 0.04 −0.49 21.01 10.17 26.2 129.5 0.15 −0.36 23.89 14.6122.6 121.7 0.33 −0.11 25.82 17.58 20.0 109.7 0.58 0.26 28.24 21.37 16.6100.1 0.78 0.49 30.37 24.49 14.3 92.9 0.92 0.69 31.74 26.81 11.9 80.51.10 0.97 33.53 29.53 9.5 71.4 1.25 1.19 35.00 31.96 7.2 59.6 1.38 1.3635.99 33.70 5.3 50.9 1.48 1.45 36.50 34.67 4.3 39.7 1.59 1.64 37.0935.80 2.9 29.3 1.66 1.73 37.13 36.32 1.7 20.8 1.69 1.75 36.75 36.27 1.0

TABLE 2 Flow Rate vs. Head Loss Conventional Pool/Spa Water TreatmentSystem Flow P1 P2 P3 P4 Head Loss (gpm) (psi) (psi) (psi) (psi) (Feet)141.0 −0.38 −2.03 20.80 3.39 44.0 130.6 −0.08 −1.84 23.51 8.50 38.7119.8 0.17 −1.29 26.03 13.29 32.8 110.4 0.40 −0.94 28.27 17.22 28.6101.0 0.59 −0.42 30.33 20.67 24.6 89.5 0.80 0.14 32.48 24.53 19.8 78.60.96 0.40 33.99 27.51 16.3 70.9 1.11 0.63 35.12 29.66 13.7 60.6 1.220.92 35.93 31.68 10.5 50.5 1.32 1.14 36.45 33.09 8.1 39.6 1.41 1.2436.73 34.09 6.5 29.9 1.50 1.45 36.39 34.91 3.5 20.3 1.54 1.58 36.6236.00 1.3

Additionally, the power required to move fluid through each system wasalso recorded at various flow rates for each system. Table 3 belowsummarizes the power required at various flow rates for the firstembodiment of the pool/spa water treatment system 100, and Table 4 belowsummarizes the power required at various flow rates for the conventionalpool/spa water treatment system 500. The required power vs. flow ratefor each system as shown in Tables 3 and 4 is also plotted on the graphshown in FIG. 8.

TABLE 3 Flow Rate vs. Power 1^(st) Embodiment of Pool/Spa WaterTreatment System Flow (gpm) Power (watts) 159.2 2130 150.9 2110 139.22090 129.5 2065 121.7 2035 109.7 1995 100.1 1940 92.9 1890 80.5 181571.4 1730 59.6 1650 50.9 1570 39.7 1440 29.3 1330 20.8 1245

TABLE 4 Flow Rate vs. Power Conventional Pool/Spa Water Treatment SystemFlow (gpm) Power (watts) 141.0 2195 130.6 2145 119.8 2100 110.4 2035101.0 1985 89.5 1895 78.6 1815 70.9 1735 60.6 1625 50.5 1525 39.6 142029.9 1310 20.3 1215

With reference to FIG. 8 and Tables 1 and 2, the head loss in theconventional pool/spa water treatment system 500 is greater than thehead loss in the first embodiment of the pool/spa water treatment system100 for all flow rates. Further, as the flow rate increases, thedifference in head loss between the conventional system and firstembodiment increases. With reference to FIG. 8 and Tables 3 and 4, therequired power for the conventional pool/spa water system 500 and thefirst embodiment of the pool/spa water treatment system 100 isapproximately the same for flow rates less than 80 gallons per minute(“g.p.m.”). At flow rates above 80 g.p.m., the first embodiment of thepool/spa water treatment system 100 requires less power than theconventional pool/spa water treatment system 500.

In other words, it takes less power for the first embodiment of thepool/spa water treatment system 100 to achieve the same flow rate as theconventional pool/spa water treatment system 500, especially for largerflow rates. Another way of stating this is that at the same power, thefirst embodiment of the pool/spa water treatment system 100 provides agreater flow rate than the conventional pool/spa water treatment system500. This, in turn, means that a pool or spa owner can use less overallpower to turn-over the water in their pool or spa using the firstembodiment of the pool/spa water treatment system 100 compared to theconventional pool/spa water treatment system 500. For example, it isrecommended that a pool owner turn-over the water in their pool twice aday. Continuing with the example, for a fixed speed pump, the amount ofpower supplied by the pump is constant. Because the first embodiment ofthe pool/spa water treatment system 100 that uses this pump has a higherflow rate for turning over the water in the pool at the given power forthe pump than the conventional pool/spa water treatment system 500 thatuses the same pump, the first system 100 will turn-over the pool waterfaster, thus reducing the amount of time and hence the overall powerconsumed by the pump. As yet another example, for a variable or multiplespeed pump, because the pump can supply more water at a given speed inthe first embodiment of the pool/spa water treatment system 100 comparedto the conventional pool/spa water treatment system 500, the pump can beoperated using less overall energy when turning over water at the samerate in each system. Moreover, because pool water should be turned-overtwice a day, these time and power savings achieved in the firstembodiment of the pool/spa water treatment system 100, whether itutilizes a fixed, multiple or variable speed pump, may be substantialover time.

FIG. 10 shows one implementation of a heat exchanger header 600 for aheater. In this implementation, the heat exchanger header 600 has theinlet and outlet 605, 610 ports aligned at right angles to one another.This offset orientation facilitates more efficient layout of the inletand outlet tubing connected to these ports 605, 610, respectively,allowing for less cross-over tubing, fewer right-angles, and otherpossible efficiencies. This layout benefit likely allows the componentsupstream and downstream of the heat exchanger to be positioned moreclosely together with simpler piping layouts, allowing for easier accessand thus more efficient maintenance and replacement of components.

To obtain this advantage, the offset in the inlet and outlet ports 605,610 do not need to be separated by ninety degrees only. Greater or fewerdegrees of separation may provide the same benefit, depending on thesize of the header structure, the size of the ports, and the size of thetubing used in the layout.

The header 600 defines two chambers separated by an internal wall 635 asshown in FIG. 11. With reference to FIGS. 10 and 11, the inlet chamber615 is on the left and the outlet chamber 620 is on the right. Thelateral ends of the inlet chamber 615 and the outlet chamber 620 aresealed off by selectively removable caps 625, 630 (see FIG. 12). In thisembodiment the caps 625, 630 are received on the lateral ends by ascrew-thread engagement. Other types of engagement may be used, such aspress fit, plastic welding, adhesive, epoxy, or other means which may ormay not allow the cap(s) to be removed.

The internal wall 635 that separates the inlet and outlet chambers 615,620 may have an aperture 640 therein (shown in FIG. 11). A bypass valve645 may be operably associated with the aperture 640 to allow for waterto flow directly from the inlet chamber 615 to the outlet chamber 620,bypassing the heat exchanger all together. The bypass valve 645, such asthat shown in FIG. 12, may be actuated automatically by reacting towater pressure, water flow speed, or external control by a user orautomated control system. The bypass valve 645 sensitivity and responsecharacteristics may be altered to adjust its performance. The bypassvalve structure 645 in FIG. 12 utilizes a spring force that can beadjusted to affect when the bypass valve 645 is actuated. The bypassvalve 645 is attached to the outlet cap 630 used to close off the outletchamber 620. The bypass valve 645 is positioned over the aperture 640 inthe wall when the outlet cap 630 is positioned on the header 600 toenclose the outlet chamber 620. The bypass valve 645 can be adjusted bya user or by an automatic control system by increasing or decreasing thespring force of the spring 650, as is known in the art. One suitablebypass valve 645 is by Jandy Pool Products, Inc. The bypass valve 645may be associated with the inlet cap 625, or may not be operablyassociated with either cap, and instead may be configured independent ofeither the inlet or outlet caps 625, 630.

The inlet cap 625 may include various sensors, such as pressure sensors,temperature sensors, and the like to monitor the flow of water and thecondition of the water flowing into the header 600. The outlet cap 630may include similar sensors.

A plurality of ports 655 a-h extend off the rear wall of each chamber615, 620. For the ports 655 a-d associated with the inlet chamber 615,each of these ports 655 a-d aligns with a particular inlet tube 660 a-din the heat exchanger. For the ports 655 e-h associated with the outletchamber 620, each of these ports 655 e-h aligns with a particular outlettube 660 e-h from the heat exchanger. This particular header 600includes four ports each for the inlet and outlet chambers 615, 620, andis for use on a C-Fin heat exchanger by Jandy Pool Products, Inc. Otherconfigurations of the header 600 may include ports 655 designed to matewith the particular heat exchanger with which the header 600 is to beused.

Other ports may be formed in the header 600 and associated with eitheror both of the inlet and outlet chambers 615, 620 for various purposes.For instance, the collar 665 formed above the output port 610 from theheader 600 is threaded internally (or externally) for receipt of apressure relief valve. If this collar 665 is to be used, an aperturemust be formed through the sidewall of the header 600, inside thecollar, to communicate with the outlet chamber 620. The other ports 670formed in the bottom of the header 600 may be used as drain plugs or forthe insertion of other sensors or devices for use with the inlet and/oroutlet chambers 615, 620.

The offset inlet and outlet ports 605, 610 on the header 600 allow thepiping attached to each port 605, 610 to be laid out in a more efficientmanner, allowing the use of fewer right-angle corner tubes, and moresweep tubes. Also, the configuration of the inlet and outlet ports 605,610 allows for a piping layout having fewer turns. FIG. 13 shows oneexample of the range of offset for the inlet and outlet ports. Angle φin FIG. 13 is shown as 90 degrees. However, angle φ may be less or morethan 90 degrees depending on the layout. One benefit of the angle φbeing sufficient to keep the inlet port 605 from overlapping the outletport 610 in this view is that the piping extending from each port canpass by one another without using any additional bends or curves. If theangle φ is small enough (or large enough if angle φ were obtuse in FIG.13) so that the ports overlapped any amount (hereafter “minimum angleφ”), in this view, this benefit would not be present, however it wouldstill be superior to an arrangement where the inlet and outlet portswere parallel to one another in the same plane as in FIG. 9. The minimumangle φ is dependent upon the size and shape of the port (typically thediameter dimension for a circular port (D_(port))), and the size andshape of the header body (if cylindrical, then the diameter dimension(D_(header))) as in FIG. 13). The ports 605, 610 do not have to have thesame diameter, and the header 600 may have a varying cross section alongits length, or may not be cylindrical. Either port, the inlet 605 or theoutlet 610, may extend directly forward in the configuration of FIG. 10,and the other may be offset. Also, there may be more than one inletport, or more than one outlet port, or both, on a header 600. Theplurality of inlet and outlet ports in this case may be all offsetrelative to one another, or may be in partial or full alignment based onfunction.

Some of the benefits of the offset header inlet and outlet portsinclude, but are not limited to the following:

a) the ability to control the inlet and outlet port elevations of thevarious pieces of the pool equipment, in this case the heater equipment,in relation to the filter and/or the salt chlorine generator, and poolvalves;

b) align where possible the horizontal dimensions (fore and aft) toensure the inlet and outlet connections are in different planes so thatthe plumbing does not need to cross, and special field adjustments arenot made; and

c) allow for the use of “sweep” elbows for improved hydraulicperformance. Sweep elbows are tubing having a smooth curve of 90 degrees(or more or less) with a relatively large radius of curvatures asopposed to a small, tight right-angle shape. The sweep elbows arebelieved to provide less backpressure and are believed to be morehydraulically efficient.

The piping and plumbing connection for the pool/spa water treatmentsystem may be made from any suitable material, including, but notlimited to, plastic (e.g., PVC), metal, fiberglass, and so on.

All directional references (e.g., upper, lower, upward, downward, left,right, leftward, rightward, top, bottom, above, below, vertical,horizontal, clockwise, and counterclockwise) are only used foridentification purposes to aid the reader's understanding of theembodiments of the present invention, and do not create limitations,particularly as to the position, orientation, or use of the inventionunless specifically set forth in the claims. Joinder references (e.g.,attached, affixed, coupled, connected, and joined) are to be construedbroadly and may include intermediate members between a connection ofelements and relative movement between elements. As such, joinderreferences do not necessarily infer that two elements are directlyconnected and in fixed relation to each other.

In some instances, components are described with reference to “ends”having a particular characteristic and/or being connected with anotherpart. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the presentinvention is not limited to components which terminate immediatelybeyond their points of connection with other parts. Thus, the term “end”should be interpreted broadly, in a manner that includes areas adjacent,rearward, forward of, or otherwise near the terminus of a particularelement, link, component, part, member or the like. In methodologiesdirectly or indirectly set forth herein, various steps and operationsare described in one possible order of operation, but those skilled inthe art will recognize that steps and operations may be rearranged,replaced, or eliminated without necessarily departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention. It is intended that all mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingsshall be interpreted as illustrative only and not limiting. Changes indetail or structure may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention as defined in the appended claims.

1. A header for a heat exchanger comprising a header cavity defined byan external wall and separated into an inlet chamber and an outletchamber by a dividing wall; an inlet port defined within the externalwall in fluid communication with the inlet chamber; and an outlet portdefined within the external wall in fluid communication with the outletchamber; wherein the inlet port is oriented on the external wall at anoffset angle with respect to a position of the outlet port.
 2. Theheader for the heat exchanger of claim 1, wherein the offset angle is 90degrees.
 3. The header for the heat exchanger of claim 1, wherein theoffset angle is 180 degrees.
 4. The header for the heat exchanger ofclaim 1 further comprising one or more heater outlet ports in fluidcommunication with the inlet chamber; and one or more heater inlet portsin fluid communication with the outlet chamber.
 5. The header for theheat exchanger of claim 4, wherein the heater outlet ports arepositioned at a second offset angle with respect to a position of theheater inlet ports.
 6. The header for the heat exchanger of claim 4,wherein the heater outlet ports are positioned in a common plane withthe heater inlet ports.
 7. The header for the heat exchanger of claim 6,wherein the heater outlet ports and the heater inlet ports arepositioned at a second offset angle with respect to a position of theinlet port and a third offset angle with respect to the position of theoutlet port.
 8. The header for the heat exchanger of claim 1, whereinthe dividing wall further defines an aperture; and the header furthercomprises a bypass valve operably associated with the aperture to allowwater to flow directly from the inlet chamber to the outlet chamber uponactuation of the bypass valve.
 9. The header for the heat exchanger ofclaim 8, wherein the bypass valve is actuated by one or more of fluidpressure, fluid temperature, fluid flow speed, manual actuation, orcontrol system actuation.
 10. The header for the heat exchanger of claim1, wherein the offset angle is dependent upon a diameter of each of theinlet port, the outlet port, and the header cavity and is selected toprevent overlap in position between the inlet port and the outlet porton the external wall.
 11. A header for a heat exchanger comprising atubular body defining a header cavity; a dividing wall separating theheader cavity into an inlet chamber and an outlet chamber; a first endcap removably attached to a first end of the tubular body to seal theinlet chamber; a second end cap removably attached to a second end ofthe tubular body to seal the outlet chamber; an inlet port definedwithin the tubular body in fluid communication with the inlet chamber;an outlet port defined within the tubular body in fluid communicationwith the outlet chamber; wherein the inlet port is oriented at a firstoffset angle with respect to a position of the outlet port; one or moreheater outlet ports in fluid communication with the inlet chamber; andone or more heater inlet ports in fluid communication with the outletchamber, wherein the heater outlet ports are positioned in a commonplane with the heater inlet ports; and the heater outlet ports and theheater inlet ports are positioned at a second offset angle with respectto a position of the inlet port and a third offset angle with respect tothe position of the outlet port.
 12. The header for the heat exchangerof claim 11, wherein the first offset angle is 90 degrees, the secondoffset angle is 180 degrees, and the third offset angle is 90 degrees.13. The header for the heat exchanger of claim 11, wherein the dividingwall further defines an aperture; and the header further comprises abypass valve operably associated with the aperture to allow water toflow directly from the inlet chamber to the outlet chamber uponactuation of the bypass valve.
 14. The header for the heat exchanger ofclaim 13, wherein the bypass valve is actuated by one or more of fluidpressure, fluid temperature, fluid flow speed, manual actuation, orcontrol system actuation.
 15. The header for the heat exchanger of claim11, wherein the first offset angle is dependent upon dimensions of eachof the inlet port, the outlet port, and the header cavity and isselected to prevent overlap in position between the inlet port and theoutlet port on the tubular body.
 16. The header for the heat exchangerof claim 11, wherein one or both of the first end cap and the second endcap further comprises one or more sensors to monitor a condition of afluid within one or both of the inlet chamber and the outlet chamber,respectively.
 17. The header for the heat exchanger of claim 11 furthercomprising one of more drain apertures defined in the tubular body influid communication with either or both of the inlet chamber and theoutlet chamber.
 18. The header for the heat exchanger of claim 11further comprising a pressure release aperture in the tubular body influid communication with the outlet chamber.